VALDOSTA, Ga. – The Valdosta State men's and women's tennis teams open the 2026 spring season on Tuesday, Feb. 3 at 2 p.m. at the VSU Tennis Complex versus Middle Georgia.  The women's team then will host No. 2 Nova Southeastern on Friday, Feb. 6 at 2 p.m., to complete the first week of competition.  
 
On the men's side, the back-to-back defending national champion Blazers begin their quest for a three-peat as they enter the season No. 2 nationally in the latest ITA Top 25.  Barry leads the preseason rankings, while Flagler is third, followed by West Florida and Lubbock Christian is fifth.  VSU enters following a thrilling 26-0 record during the 2024-25 campaign, culminating in a thrilling 4-2 win over Washburn in the national title match.  The Blazers have won 42-straight dual matches dating back to a 4-3 loss to West Florida on Mar. 30, 2024.  That season, VSU won its last 16 matches en route to a 4-3 win over Flagler in the national title match.  
 
Middle Georgia is in its first season of full NCAA Division II play.  The Knights went 10-9 last season in the final year of their transition from NAIA and a second-place finish in the Southern State Athletic Conference.  
 
This season, the Knights were picked seventh in the preseason Peach Belt Conference Poll.  MGA returns six players from last season, including ITA and NAIA All-America selection in Daniel Garcia Suarez.  He finished ninth last season in NAIA in singles and went 10-6 for the spring.  
 
The Blazers return just two players from last season's national championship team in sophomore Julien Doitteau and junior Jerome Iaconi.  Doitteau is 24^th nationally in the fall ITA rankings as he is 2-1 this year in singles and 1-1 in doubles.  Last season, Doitteau went 14-2 in singles, including a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Washburn's Matthew Earle in the national title match to clinch the victory for VSU.  Iaconi went 14-9 in singles last year.  
 
Among the six new players for the Blazers this year include sophomore Philipp Bosse who is 3-2 in singles this year and 42^nd nationally.  He is 1-1 in doubles with Doitteau as well.  At the break, the Blazers added the services of freshman Pietro Casciola, senior Wilson Igbinovia and junior Yohann Meunier, to go along with Bosse and freshmen Emile Le Delporte and Jan Thissen.  Igbinovia played at West Alabama (2023-24) and Embry-Riddle last season, while Meunier played at Purdue University Northwest (Ind.). 
 
On the women's side, the Blazers have a completely new team this year with seven players, including six Division I transfers.  Junior Charleigh Fay, an Eastern Illinois transfer, leads the way with a 3-1 record in the fall in singles and a 2-3 mark in doubles.  Sophomore Louisiana-Lafayette transfer Ivana Castillo Hurtado is 3-3 in singles, while Alabama State junior transfer Ena Arnautovic is 0-2 in singles, but 2-3 in doubles. 
 
MGA was picked fifth in the preseason Peach Belt Conference poll as the Knights came in second in the Southern States Athletic Conference last season.  They return five of seven players from a season ago, including Ainhoa Meili Fernandez who earned third team NAIA All-America honors last season.  She went 13-6 in singles and 12-8 in doubles.  As a team, MGA went 13-7 last season and 5-1 in league play losing in the NAIA postseason tournament. 
 
Nova Southeastern begins the 2026 spring season as the No. 2 team in the country behind Barry.  The Sharks went 25-4 last season losing to Barry in the national title match, 4-3.  This season, NSU hosts St. Thomas on Feb. 3, before heading to Valdosta for Friday's match.  
 
The Sharks lead the all-time series 5-2 since 2014 and have won four-straight, including a 7-0 win in Davie, Fla., in the last meeting on Feb. 28, 2023.  VSU's last win came in 2017 with a 5-4 victory in Valdosta.